Dear and valued co-workers,
The successful conclusion of the Initial Phase of the first collective enterprise launched by the followers of Bahá’u’lláh in the British Isles during the first year of the second Bahá’í century constitutes a milestone of the utmost significance on the road leading the British Bahá’í community to the glorious destiny ordained for them by Divine Providence. The efforts exerted, the magnitude of the success which has been achieved, the spirit of consecration that has been demonstrated, the solidarity, determination and perseverance evinced by individuals, groups and assemblies during the opening years of this century are indeed unprecedented in British Bahá’í history, and may be regarded next to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s twice repeated visit to the British Isles, as the most potent period in the annals of the British Bahá’í community.
The establishment of the structural basis of the Administrative Order of the Faith in Scotland, Wales and Eire—an accomplishment of tremendous spiritual significance in itself—has greatly enhanced the momentous character of this period, and will lend a mighty impetus to the evolution of the Faith in the days to come.
The Final Phase of the Plan must now be carried forward with still greater energy, with still nobler self-sacrifice, with a clearer vision of the historic import of the work which is to be accomplished, with a mightier determination to bring it to a successful conclusion. The resources at the disposal of the community must, as a result of its expansion, be continually augmented and carefully extended. The prizes so painstakingly won must, at all costs, be safeguarded and consolidated. The newly enrolled believers must be constantly encouraged to assume an increasing share of the responsibilities and of the administrative functions devolving upon the members of the community. The pioneer activities undertaken by its members must, however great the sacrifices involved, be increasingly developed, systematised and accelerated. The needs of the Faith in the newly opened territories in the west, in the north, and in the south, must, while the specific goals of the Plan are being pursued, be given special attention, in order to enrich the life of the entire community, to increase the diversity of its constituent elements, to demonstrate the welding and assimilative power of the Faith, and to stimulate the processes now set in motion for the spiritual regeneration of all the ethnic elements within the British Isles.
In token of my gratitude for the work already accomplished, as a recognition of the status achieved by the British Bahá’í community in the Western Hemisphere, in anticipation of the tasks that still remain to be undertaken, I feel moved to initiate, as soon as the situation here permits, measures that will enable me, through the institution of a Palestine Branch of the British Bahá’í National Assembly, to register in the name of the body of the elected representatives of the followers of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the British Isles, a portion of Bahá’í international endowments dedicated to the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel. May this step, associating it with its sister national assemblies in the United States and India in the possession of so sacred a trust, lend its share to the consolidation and distinction of the central institution of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the British Isles.
Shoghi
Letter of 2 May 1948
2 May 1948